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"For faith comes from hearing, and hearing through the word of Christ." ~ Romans 10:17

The Necessity of Pure Doctrine

7/25/2021

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Picture
The Sermon on the Mount, James Tissot, 1986-96, Public Domain.
Trinity 8 
Matthew 7:15-23 

Pastor James Preus 
Trinity Lutheran Church 
July 25, 2021 
 
 
Is pure doctrine important? Our Lord Jesus sure thinks it is. He tells us to beware of false prophets. What is a false prophet? A prophet is someone who speaks for God. A false prophet is someone who claims to speak for God, but rather tells lies. The Lord spoke through the prophet Jeremiah saying that the prophets have prophesied lies in his name (Jeremiah 23). This is why Jesus says that they come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly are ravenous wolves. That is to say, they come to you with the appearance of someone you can trust, but that is only a disguise. Rather, their intent is to destroy you. They come to you looking like a trusted pastor, calling themselves Christian, and minister. They prophesy in Jesus’ name, cast out demons and do many mighty works in Jesus’ name, but they do not do the will of God. They are liars, which means they do the will of the devil, who is the father of lies.  

The word doctrine means teaching. Pure means unpolluted. Pure water does not have any dirt or harmful chemicals in it. Pure gold does not have dross. It shouldn’t be difficult to understand that you should desire to learn pure doctrine and to mark and avoid false doctrine. Pure doctrine comes from Jesus Christ, who is the only way to heaven. False doctrine comes from Satan, who lies to you in order to murder your soul and send you to hell. You would be horrified if you paid a contractor to build your house, and when he laid its foundation, he mixed dirt with the concrete to save money. That would weaken the foundation of your house! That would be dangerous. It would be evil to mix sawdust into your child’s food. We want healthy food, stable materials, pure medicine. How much more should we desire the pure word of God?! 

Before our Gospel lesson begins, Jesus warns us, “Enter by the narrow gate for the gate is wide and the way is easy that leads to destruction, and those who enter by it are many. For the gate is narrow and the way is hard that leads to life, and those who find it are few.” The way to destruction is wide, because it is the way of the lies of Satan. Satan’s lies are more numerous than the sand of the seashore. And you’re sure to find one that will fit your fancy. But the way to life is narrow, because there is only one way. And that is Jesus Christ. He alone is the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through him. So, if you want to be certain that you are on the way to eternal life, you should pay careful attention to the pure doctrine. You don’t want to mix the lies of Satan into the teaching of Jesus. If you discovered a cyanide capsule in your bottle of vitamins, you would certainly take it out. How much more should we remove the false teachings that try to pollute our hearts? Jesus describes the way of false teaching as the way of destruction, that is, the way to hell. He describes false teachers as ravenous wolves dressed like sheep. What do ravenous wolves do when they get into a sheep fold? How do the sheep fare? Are we not sheep? Should we not take heed of this warning from our Good Shepherd?  

People get uncomfortable with this lesson from Jesus, because he warns us against those within the Christian Church, who teach falsely. He’s not warning us here against the militant atheist, who will teach your teenager that we evolved from random chance. He’s not warning us here against the pornographer, who seeks to steel the soul of your children and spouse. He’s not warning against the Muslim cleric or the Buddhist monk. It should be obvious to every Christian that you should avoid these influencers at all costs. He’s here warning against those who bear the name Christian, who may say things you like, who make you feel comfortable.  

Many say, “Why make a big deal about pure doctrine? Isn’t all that matters is that you’re a Christians and believe in Jesus? Won’t people in other Christians churches also go to heaven?” It is most certainly true that all who believe in Jesus with their hearts and confess him as Lord with their mouths will be saved.” (Romans 10:10) And there are many within the Roman Catholic, Eastern Orthodox, Reformed, Baptist, and many other Christian denominations, who trust in the Lord Jesus for forgiveness and salvation and they truly will be saved just as we will be. It is possible to believe some false doctrine and still be saved. But it is also possible to live with only one lung or one kidney. It’s possible to survive with your legs, arms, and eyes amputated. But it certainly isn’t desirable. In fact, it can be quite harmful!  

There are Christian ministers that say that it is okay to believe that the creation account as recorded in Genesis is a myth and that God did not really create Adam out of the dust of the ground. But if you are unwilling to believe that God formed Adam out of the dust of the ground, how can you believe that God will raise your mortal body from the dust of the earth? How can God give new life to all those who have perished and whose bodies have rotted away and turned to dust? How could God have raised Christ? And it is no surprise that those who accept the theory of macro-evolution and who dismiss Genesis as a myth soon dismiss other or all miracles of the Bible and many reject the chief article of the Christian faith.  

Christians are under increased pressure to accept homosexual and transgender ideologies, so many Christian ministers are now saying that homosexuality and transgenderism are not sins. Yet, the acceptance of these ideologies makes it impossible to understand what God intends for how men and women should behave, for marriage, for children, for chastity, for the relationship between Christ and his Church. Indeed, if sociologists spent a thousand lifetimes observing men, women, and children, and the affect marriage has on them, they would still not understand a fraction of what God knew when he created them male and female. And if we cannot fully grasp with our intellect the profound good in the distinction between men and women, and marriage between one man and one woman, we certainly cannot grasp the evil done by destroying these things instituted by God.  

Many Christians reject Baptism. Some Lutherans will dismiss this as just a minor error, but it is very serious. People reject Baptism, because they think that they must choose God instead of God choosing them. And because they refuse to simply take Jesus at his word, they deprive children of the saving washing. Many deny that Jesus can be present bodily in the Lord’s Supper, because a man cannot be present in more than one place at one time. But if Christ cannot be present in the Supper, then he cannot be true God and man. And if he were only present here as God, then he would not be with us as the one who was crucified for our sins, that is, as the one who saved us. So, you see that all of these false teachings lead to even worse errors. Pure doctrine is one united body. No amount of false doctrine is safe.  

It is true that some who believe some false doctrine will nevertheless be saved. Yet, there is false doctrine that makes one not a Christian, and therefore, outside of salvation. Those who deny that Jesus is God and man cannot be saved. Those who deny that God is the Holy Trinity cannot be saved. Those who deny that Jesus died for the sins of the whole world and rose again from the dead, so that whoever believes in him will not perish, but have eternal life, cannot be saved. Those who refuse to repent of their sins, but rather persist in them without repenting, cannot be saved.  

The most damaging false teaching, which takes many forms, is that we can be saved by our own good works. But if we can be saved by our own works, by being good people, then we are not saved by the suffering and death of our Lord Jesus Christ. The teaching that good works save replaces Christ Jesus as our true Savior. This false teaching must be rejected at all costs. It blasphemes Christ by saying that his precious blood is not enough to pay for the sins of the world. This is to deny that Jesus is God and Lord. The teaching that good works save robs us of our salvation and confidence. This is why we must avoid all false teaching. All false teaching comes from Satan. So, the goal of all false teaching is to rob you of Christ Jesus as your true treasure.  

Perhaps the most terrifying passage in all of Scripture is where Jesus says that there will be many who will claim to prophesy, exorcise demons, and do mighty works in Jesus’ name, who will cry out to Jesus, “Lord, Lord!”, yet to whom Jesus will say, “I never knew you; depart from me, you workers of lawlessness.” Will Jesus say that to me? I cry out to Jesus today. I call him Lord. Will I call him my Lord on the Last Day only to hear him respond, “I never knew you.”, before casting me into hell? How can I be certain that Jesus will not say those horrid words, but will instead say, “Enter into the joy of your Master.”?   

Only the pure doctrine of Christ can give you that confidence. Jesus says at the end of his Sermon on the Mount that he who hears his words and does them will be like a man who builds his house on the rock, and that house will survive the rain, and the wind, and the floods. Jesus here is saying the same as St. Paul in Romans chapter eight where he says, “For I am sure that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.”  

Pure doctrine gives you confidence that you have built your faith on solid rock, because it teaches that Jesus Christ has fully paid for your sins by his innocent suffering and death. Pure doctrine teaches that Jesus is true man, so he could take your place. Pure doctrine teaches that Jesus is true God, so that his death on the cross fully pays for the sins of the whole world. Pure doctrine teaches that Jesus is risen from the dead and truly intercedes for you in heaven, even as he showers you with his grace on earth through his holy Word and Sacraments. Pure doctrine assures you that since Jesus has done everything necessary to save you, that only faith can receive this salvation as a gift. Your good works cannot save you, just as your sins cannot damn you. Pure doctrine gives you confidence in your salvation, because pure doctrine comes straight from Jesus.  
​

But can you truly know pure doctrine? Indeed, you can. God’s word is a lamp to our feet and a light to our path (Psalm 119:105). Learn your Catechism by heart. It clearly articulates the teaching of the Bible. Come to church and listen to the sermon and judge it according to Holy Scripture. Read the Bible. Come to Bible class and ask questions. Read, mark, learn, and inwardly digest the Holy Scriptures. Be a student of the Holy Spirit, a disciple of Christ. Lean not on your own understanding, but believe God’s Word, all of it, even if it seems impossible. This is what it means to have Christ as your true teacher. And if you store up Christ’s words in your heart, you will never be put to shame. Amen.  
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The Sacraments Prove that Christ is Compassionate and Generous

7/19/2021

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Picture
Giovanni Lanfranco, Miracle of the Loaves and the Fish, 1620-1623, Public Domain.
Trinity 7 
Mark 8:1-9 
Pastor James Preus 
Trinity Lutheran Church 
July 18, 2021 
 
Let us pray, “The eyes of all look to you, O Lord, and you give them their food in due season. You open your hand and satisfy the desire of every living thing.” Amen.  


What is a Sacrament? A Sacrament is a means of grace, which includes a visible element joined to God’s Word. A Sacrament delivers God’s grace and forgiveness for Christ’s sake. This grace and forgiveness given in a Sacrament is received through faith alone. So, Baptism is a Sacrament. The visible element is the water. Yet, not all water in the world is a Baptism. You are not baptized every time you take a bath or go out in the rain. Added to the water must be the word of God, that is, the command and promise of Christ. Then the water becomes a Baptism, that is, a washing of regeneration and a renewal by the Holy Spirit. The Lord’s Supper is also a Sacrament. The visible elements are the bread and the wine. Yet, not every time you eat bread are you eating the body of Christ, nor every time that you drink wine are you consuming Christ’s blood. The words of Christ must be added. Then, the meal is not simply bread and wine, but the very body that was nailed to the cross and the blood poured for the forgiveness of all sins, consumed in a supernatural way with the bread and wine, giving forgiveness and salvation to all who believe.  


Genesis chapter two gives us a helpful illustration to how this works. God planted the Garden of Eden and placed Adam in the midst of it, telling him that he could eat the fruit of all the trees in the garden. Yet, two trees were different. There was the tree of the knowledge of good and evil and the tree of life. Not every tree in the garden gave the knowledge of good and evil and not every tree in the garden made one live forever. Yet, to these two trees God added his word. This is why God forbade Adam to eat of the tree of knowledge of good and evil and why he banished Adam and Eve from the garden after they did, so that they would not eat of the tree of life.  


Why does Christ Jesus give us Sacraments? Why doesn’t he simply speak to us? Our Gospel lesson tells us why. Jesus has compassion on us. Compassion is an attribute of God. He pities us in our distress. Even before we realize the trouble we are in, God sees it and makes a plan to help us. That is why Jesus instituted the Sacraments.  


When God created Adam, he did not simply make another animal of flesh. Nor did he make another angel without a body. God made a unique creature, a person with a physical body and an immortal soul. That is what Scripture teaches us when it says that God formed Adam out of the dust of the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life.  


And so, when mankind fell into sin and God desired to send a Savior, his Son did not become an angel, but a human being, born of the Virgin Mary. Jesus Christ, who is true God from eternity, is also true man. He has a physical body like we do. He also has a human soul. He loved the Lord God with all his human heart, soul, and mind so to fulfill the Law for us. And when he suffered for us on the cross, he not only bore the scourge on his human body, but his human soul endured the punishment of hell for the souls of all mankind. This makes Jesus a true Savior for all people.  


And this also helps us understand God’s purpose in the sacraments. Faith comes from hearing and hearing through the word of Christ. (Romans 10:17) Jesus is the bread of life, of which whoever eats will live forever. And this eating is done through faith alone. Faith is an activity of the heart. Why then does Jesus give us something to eat and drink? Why does he say, “Whoever believes and is baptized will be saved?” (Mark 16:16) It is for the sake of our faith. It is because he has compassion on us and wants us to be thoroughly comforted in his mercy.  


When God baptized you and the water was poured on your skin, God was telling you that he desires to save not only your soul, but your body. Just as Jesus’ body was made wet by the waters of the Jordan when he was baptized by John and then rose from the dead imperishable after his crucifixion, so we who are baptized are buried with Christ, so that we might rise with him. The water touching our bodies tells us that this is a promise of a real resurrection. Our bodies will be raised imperishable, just as Jesus’ body is. As our souls live forever, so will our bodies with Christ our Savior.  


Likewise, when the body of Christ is put in your mouth and you drink his blood, you receive in your body him, who rose bodily from the dead and is ascended in glory to the Father’s right hand. So too will our bodies rise and ascend to be with him. Unlike what some accuse us Lutherans of teaching, we do not believe that Jesus’ body and blood are torn apart when we eat the Sacrament, but that we receive Christ’s body and blood in a supernatural way without harming him. And so, as our bodies have received the supernatural, they shall be like him who rules over nature forever.  


Jesus gives us the Sacraments, because he is generous. When Jesus waited three days before he fed the crowd, he taught them that man does not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of God. The multitude sought first the kingdom of God and its righteousness by hanging on to the words of Jesus. And all the rest was added unto them. Their bellies were filled and their strength revived for their journey home. By using what was available, seven loaves and a few small fish, instead of raining bread down from heaven or turning rocks into bread, Jesus showed that while the mouths of all are satisfied from God’s most gracious hand, God expects them to work to earn their bread. Yet, despite these two lessons, Jesus proved himself to be generous, and so proved himself to be God.  


People worry a lot about food. That makes sense. Food is one of our most immediate needs. We can’t live long without food. Toward the end of the 18th century, Thomas Malthus postulated that the human population would always grow faster than the ability to grow food to feed that population, and so he advocated for population control. This of course was contrary to God’s word. The human population when Malthus lived was under one billion people. The population today is closing in on eight billion, yet there is a smaller percentage of the population going hungry today than at any time in human history. Malthus was wrong. God opened his hands and satisfied the desires of every living thing.  


Only a month ago, our farmers were looking at their dry fields with wrinkled foreheads, praying that God would send rain. And did he send rain? He sure did. And as God provides for the physical needs of our human race and causes the food to grow in more and more abundance, even more does he provide for our salvation. Jesus had the crowd wait three days before he filled their bellies, because he had something more important to give them. Was he stingy in that which is more important? By no means. The Gospel is our most important bread. And the Gospel shows that God loves us abundantly. If God did not spare his own Son, but gave him up for us all, how will he not also with him graciously give us all things?  


Water covers most of the earth’s surface. People do not live where there is no water. So, God joined his promise to water, so that we would know that he generously pours the Holy Spirit upon us and washes away our sins. Bread is the most common food on earth. Wine is plentiful. So, Jesus joined his word and promise to bread and wine, so that we would know that his body and blood would never run out to forgive our sins.  


There were four thousand men (Matthew tells us not including the women and children). Four is the number of the earth, with its four winds. One thousand is the number for completeness. Jesus truly fed this great multitude, but the number teaches us that Christ provides for all people everywhere. Although they only started with seven loaves of bread, they had seven large baskets full of bread when they were done. Seven is the number of the Church. This shows that Christ has given his Church an inexhaustible supply of himself, the Bread of Life. As the earth must not worry about becoming over populated, because God has promised that he will continue feeding us, so Christ promises to continue to pour his grace upon us as long as the sun and moon exist. As the fields continue to surpass the need to supply bread for the mouths of the growing population, so much more will Christ meet the demand to satisfy our hunger.  


When I was a child, we would ask our mother what’s for dinner. We’d get annoyed when our father would say, “Dinner? We fed you yesterday. Do you mean we have to feed you every day?” Of course, they had to feed us every day. We get hungry every day! If we don’t keep eating, we will die. And so, it is for our eternal life. We went to church last week. We heard the Gospel then. We received the Sacrament then. But what have we done in between? We’ve sinned. We neglected our prayers. We trusted in earthly things, rather than him in heaven who blesses the earth. We’ve lusted, coveted, hated, slandered, gotten drunk, cursed, sworn, been lazy, fought, been impatient and selfish, and whatever other breaking of a commandment you can add. Although we’ve been washed clean, we soil ourselves. Although we’ve eaten and drunk, we’ve exhausted ourselves in the fray. Although we were set free from sin and have become slaves of righteousness, we have turned to obey our former master and gotten ensnared again. We need to be washed. We need to be forgiven. We need to be fed and strengthened. 
 

So, we come to church and hear God’s servant forgive our sins in the stead and by the command of Christ. We hear the Gospel, which is food for our souls. And, because Christ Jesus is compassionate, and because our Jesus is especially generous, he feeds us his very body for bread and his blood for wine. He lets you know that he does not intend to leave your body dead and rotten in the grave, but that he will raise you up to new life. He tells you that your sins are personally forgiven. He strengthens you for your pilgrimage ahead. And he lets you know that this source of heavenly food will never run out.  


Let us pray,  


  Guide me, O Thou great Redeemer, Pilgrim through this barren land.  
I am weak, but Thou are mighty; Hold me with Thy pow’rful hand.  
Bread of heaven, bread of heaven, feed me till I want no more;  
Feed me till I want no more.” Amen.   
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    Rev. James Preus

    Rev. Preus is the pastor of Trinity Evangelical Lutheran Church in Ottumwa, IA. These are audio and text of the sermons he preaches at Trinity according to the Historical Lectionary. 

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